


Through the Worst of It

by felicityollies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Thunder and Lightning, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8812048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: prompt: olicity + rain, thunder, and darkness
Felicity wakes in the middle of a storm to find Oliver struggling with his ptsd.





	

A crack of thunder startled Felicity awake. She immediately went to reach for Oliver, but found he wasn’t there. Rolling over, she attempted to find her glasses. It took a few tries to grab them off the table. Everything in the room was dark, aside from the couple of flashes outside the window. As she stepped out of bed she noticed a figure near the window.

“Jesus,” she whispered.

Another flash of lightning and she realized it was Oliver. He was just standing there, staring at the rain coming down. She felt panic in her chest. He did a lot better these days. The nightmares were fewer and storms didn’t always set him off, but tonight it was different. He was so still it was almost frightening. She knew better than to go up to him when he was like this. He had never hurt her before, but he warned her when they first started sharing a bed that he wasn’t the safest person to sleep with. Touching him could pull him from his PTSD caused trance, but it could also land her on her back on the floor… and not in a fun way.

“Oliver,” she said over the sound of the rain.

He didn’t move.

She took a step back and took in a deep breath. It didn’t seem like a good idea to shout, but she was scared. She needed him to come back to her.

“Oliver!”

He took a defensive stance, tense and ready to fight.

“Oliver, it’s just me. It’s Felicity,” she said more calmly this time. She stepped closer to him. “It’s okay. You’re at home. You’re with me.”

His chest moved up and down heavily, but he looked at her and she knew he didn’t see her as a threat.

“Hey,” she put her hands up to cup his cheeks, “Come back to me.”

He relaxed into her touch.

“Talk to me,” she whispered.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he closed his eyes, “I kept thinking about it…. I thought I was over it,” his voice cracked, “I thought this would stop, but… I just kept picturing the boat… and my dad…”

“It’s okay,” she moved her thumbs against his cheeks, wiping away the tears that had started to spill.

Thunder cracked and lightning filled the sky, lighting their bedroom up just a little. As soon as it was over they were engulfed in darkness again. Oliver had moved closer to her in those quick moments. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. She hated seeing him like this. Hated knowing that these were things he might not ever be over.

“Let’s get into bed, okay? We don’t have to sleep or anything.”

He nodded, but barely pulled back enough for them to walk to the bed. They climbed in and he moved to rest his head on her chest.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, “You’re here. You’re safe. I love you.”

She repeated it a couple times.

Oliver let out a shaky breath. A few of his tears hit her night shirt as she ran her fingers through his hair. She kept her breath steady. His breathing soon mimicked hers. She knew that he was just listening to her heartbeat and breathing, slowly coming down.

“You with me?” she asked.

He sniffled and nodded, “Yes,” he hugged her tightly. “I hate crying in front of you.”

“Shhh,” she kissed the top of his head, “You never have to be worried and embarrassed about crying in front of me. I love you so much and I just want to help.”

He sighed and turned just enough to kiss her collarbone. “I love you,” he mumbled against her skin.

She nuzzled him gently. He seemed to relax more as the minutes ticked by. The rain was still going, pelting against their window, but he slowly stopped tensing at the sound of thunder. She really didn’t think he was going to sleep that night, but the emotion and stress must have been too much. He fell asleep in the position they were in. His head still resting on her chest and his body curled around hers. She was warm and content. Really, just happy that he was asleep now. It had been nearly eleven years since that boat went down, the nightmares became fewer, but she knew that because of the way he lived his life this was still going to happen. The only part that bothered her was that she couldn’t wave a magic wand and take away his pain. Of all the things she had seen in the world, all the magic and aliens, nothing could take away the memories from his past. All she could do was be there for him just like he was for her.


End file.
